Probates: Peter N. Ferris

Peter N. Ferris was a nearly exact contemporary of Abijah Merritt, born just four years later, who died two years earlier at the age of 56. And like Abijah Merritt, Peter Ferris died without a will, leaving his widow to deal with his estate. However, Peter Ferris's estate was an order of magnitude larger than that of Abijah Merritt, resulting in a much longer and more complicated process of sorting out debts, expenses, and property values.

The fact that he was a wealthier man than Abijah Merritt is reflected in Peter Ferris's gravestone, which is larger and more elaborate than Merritt's. It features an urn and willow motif, multiple different inscribed fonts, the deceased's name in a decorative cartouche, a plain rectangular border, and an epitaph inscribed painstakingly in tiny letters at the bottom of the stone. While not far from Abijah Merritt's stone, Peter Ferris's stone faces the opposite direction (to the east), reflecting a trend that was gaining traction in the mid-19th century: that is, the tendency to place gravestones facing frontally toward the entrance to the cemetery. The stone of Peter's wife Phebe also faces east, but many of the other Ferris stones face west.

Phebe's stone is somewhat unique in giving such prominence to her maiden name, Ward. Phebe's maiden name is also featured in references to her in her husband's probate records. I think it's fair to presume that Phebe Ward Ferris's natal identity was one that was very important to her, and which she may have consciously endeavored to preserve against the homogenizing force that typically obliterated a woman's ancestral name upon her marriage.

While Abijah Merritt's estate was administered by his son Caleb, Peter Ferris's estate was administered by his widow Phebe and John Curney. Upon Peter Ferris's death, they published a notice in the Peekskill Republican "for claimants to present their claims against [Peter Ferris's] estate," which appeared for six months. The claims of these creditors were then affixed to the estate inventory. Peter Ferris's estate was appraised and sold at public auction to pay his debts.

I find this aspect of the inventory somewhat difficult to understand, but as I have interpreted it, Peter Ferris's estate amounted to $6,193.15 in total, of which $3,469.05 was used to distribute to the various expenses. Phebe herself received a sum of $223.98 from the estate. From this she paid $181.98 to Joshua Putney for interest on his mortgage, $18.00 for a coffin for her husband, $22.00 for gravestones (plural - not sure if this means that Peter Ferris originally had a footstone, or whether Phebe may have purchased herself a gravestone at the same time), and $2.00 for digging the grave and setting the stone.

From this point on, the inventory is divided into several schedules.

Schedule A.
"Containing a list of the goods, chattels, & stock mentioned in the Inventory of the goods, chattels, and credits of Peter N. Ferris deceased, taken by the administratrix & administrator of the [estate] of the said Ferris deceased with the aid of Josiah Purdy and John Hallock sworn appraisers duly appointed for such purpose by the Surrogate of the County of Westchester, so far as the same could be ascertained, sold at public auction on the 31st day of October in the year 1845."

This schedule is four pages long and consists of a list of items (mostly agricultural implements and supplies and livestock) and the individuals to whom these items were sold, along with the prices. Just to give you a sense of the intricacy with which these records were made, here is my favorite section, featuring cows:



What must it have been like for Phebe Ward Ferris to see her husband's estate so meticulously and clinically deconstructed, appraised, and sold? I imagine that her life would have been completely upended - not only by the death of her husband, but by its fallout and consequences for the direction that the rest of her life would take.

Schedule B.
"Containing a true statement of the debts due the estate of Peter N. Ferris deceased mentioned in the Inventory made as stated in Schedule A which have been collected or otherwise adjusted to the credit of said estate with the interest collected or allowed on the same."

The total value of the debts collected was $4,567.82.

Schedule C.
"Containing a true statement of all moneys collected by me as due the estate of Peter N. Ferris deceased and of all moneys belonging to said estate that have come into my hands, not mentioned in Schedule B." Totaling $961.95.

Schedule D.
"Containing a true statement of the debts in the inventory of the estate of Peter N. Ferris deceased mentioned which have not been collected and which have not been collectable for the reasons herein after mentioned. Total balance due: $528.38

Schedule E.
"Containing a true statement of claims presented against the estate of said Peter N. Ferris and which have been paid or settled." Total: $2724.10

The following section of the probate record lists the "creditors and next of kin" to Peter N. Ferris to be apportioned part of his estate:

James D. Sherwood
Maria S. Sherwood
Joseph D. Ferris & Eliza his wife
Absalom N. Ferris
John H. Scott & Mary E. his wife
Silas C. Whitney & Sarah M. his wife

A little searching reveals that Sarah M. Whitney was born Sarah Matilda Ferris, the daughter of Peter N. and Phebe Ward Ferris, in 1825. Silas Constant Whitney was a farmer who lived in Yorktown; Sarah was the second of his three wives (at separate times, of course). The other next of kin are described in the section below:

"Whereas the said Peter N. Ferris died intestate, leaving him surviving his widow the said Phebe Ferris, and the following persons his only next of kin, viz.: Emily, a daughter of said deceased, the wife of George M. Sherwood; Jane, another daughter of said deceased, the wife of James D. Sherwood, who has since deceased leaving her surviving, her husband the said James D. Sherwood, and an infant daughter Maria S. Sherwood; Joseph D. Ferris, a son of said deceased; Sarah M. another daughter of said deceased & now the wife of Silas C. Whitney; Benjamin M. Ferris & Absalom N. Ferris, sons of the said deceased, and Mary E. another daughter of said deceased, and who is now the wife of John H. Scott; it is therefore further ordered and decreed that the said administrator and administratrix divide the remaining sum of $2339.38 into seven equal shares or portions of $334.19 each" to be divided among the aforesaid relations.

The Estate Inventory
Finally, the full inventory of Peter N. Ferris's estate is listed, along with the appraised value of each item.

• One brindle cow ($15)
• Three other cows each $15 ($45)
• One other cow ($16)
• Three other cows each $14 ($42)
• One other cow ($17)
• One dry cow ($8)
• One heifer ($7)
• One other heifer ($4)
• One pair of oxen ($75)
• One stack of hay ($16)
• One other stack of hay ($16)
• One other stack of hay ($20)
• One other stack of hay ($8)
• One other stack of hay ($16)
• Hay in the barn ($16)
• One horse (young horse) ($70)
• One old horse ($5)
• One ox cart ($30)
• Five forks ($1.50)
• One shovel ($1)
• Three rakes ($0.37)
• Eight planks ($1.50)
• One ox yoke ($1)
• One other ox yoke and [illegible] ($1.50)
• One lumber wagon ($40)
• One ox shed ($3)
• One grain cradle ($3)
• One corn sheller ($5)
• Sixty bushels of corn at fifty cents per bushel ($30)
• Seventeen barrels ($2.12)
• One lot of pine boards ($2.50)
• Two crobars at $1.50 each ($3)
• One lot of double harness ($4)
• One other set of double harness ($4)
• One set of single harness ($2)
• One buck saw ($0.75)
• One string of bells ($0.50)
• One iron wrench ($0.25)
• One drawing knife and pincers [?] ($0.75)
• One compass and square ($0.50)
• Two chisels ($0.50)
• Four augers ($1.50)
• One scythe and two sticks ($1.75)
• One half bushel measure and small measure ($0.75)
• Two potato hooks ($0.75)
• Two hoes ($0.75)
• One old saddle ($1.50)
• One whip ($0.25)
• One iron scoop ($1)
• One horse rake ($5)
• One grindstone ($5)
• One coopers [illegible] ($0.50)
• One hogshead and cider ($1)
• One hammer ($0.12)
• One shed ($3)
• Two ladders 50 cents each ($1)
• Two axes ($1)
• Three ox chains ($3)
• Three ploughs ($10)
• One stone boat ($1)
• One harrow ($1)
• Three cider barrels and cider ($1.50)
• Nineteen pigs $1.50 each ($28.50)
• One churning machine ($3)
• Five bushels of rye in granary ($3.12)
• One gun with accouterments ($8)

There was a separate list for "widow's right," that is, the items considered to be Phebe Ward Ferris's personal property.

• The family Bible, some school books
• One stove. One franklin
• The books, which are not in value $50
• Four sheep and three lambs - one red
• Cow - two swine - and the pork of the swine butchered for use of the family
• Wearing apparel
• Four beds, bedsteads, and bedding
• The usual cooking utensils
• The widow's clothes and the clothes of her family
• One table, six chairs
• Six knives and forks, six plates
• Six teacups and saucers
• One sugar dish, one milk pot
• One teapot and six spoons
• Two tables
• Eighteen plates
• Eighteen cups and saucers
• One sugar dish
• One teapot
• Fourteen chains
• One rocking chair
• Two looking glasses
• Carpets in use and necessary

Comparing Peter Ferris's inventory with Abijah Merritt's, it's clear to see that the former had a great deal more property, yet the rights of his widow were still restricted to personal possessions, tableware, furniture, and some livestock. Had either man thought to write a will, he could have allocated his widow a greater portion of his estate, or required that his children provide for their mother's care as a condition of their inheritance. When the two men died without a will, the law interceded to protect the widow's right to her own possessions. Yet these items seem somewhat meager in proportion to the entirety of the deceased's estate, and it is easy to imagine how the wives of men poorer than Abijah Merritt or Peter Ferris could have been devastated by their husbands' deaths. It's not surprising that many elderly widows sought refuge in the almshouse.

Phebe Ward Ferris outlived her husband by twelve years, dying on January 14, 1857. Her large marble headstone features a decorated "IN Memory of", the usual biographical details, and an epitaph reading:

Think not that they are blessed alone

Where days a peaceful tenor keep.

The God who loves our race has shown

A blessing for the eyes that weep.

Come Lord Jesus come quietly.

1. Peter N. Ferris (1789-1845) m. Phebe Ward (1791-1857)
1. Emily Ferris (1812-1878) m. George M. Sherwood (1812-1901)
2. Jane Ferris m. James D. Sherwood
1. Maria S. Sherwood
3. Joseph D. Ferris
4. Sarah Matilda Ferris (1825-) m. Silas Constant Whitney (1810-)
5. Benjamin M. Ferris
6. Absalom N. Ferris
7. Mary E. Ferris m. John H. Scott

Probates: Abijah Merritt

This week, as part of the research for my thesis paper, I'll be examining some 19th-century probate records from the Westchester County Archives. Probate records can capture an extremely vivid portrait of a person's material life at the time of his or her death, as well as the personal relationships implicated in the distribution of property.

Abijah S. Merritt died on February 5, 1847, at the age of 61 years and 3 months. His gravestone in the cemetery is an ordinary marble marker with no iconography, a short biographical inscription, and an epitaph. He is buried in the front section of the cemetery, i.e. the Episcopal section, not far from the earliest graves (which you can see in the background of the photograph on the right). Like the earliest markers, Abijah's faces west, in the direction of the old St. George's Church, despite the fact that the church had been absent from the cemetery for two decades at the time of his death.

Given the fact that he was fairly advanced in age (61 certainly wasn't young by mid-19th-century standards), it's somewhat curious that Abijah died intestate - that is, without a will. It's possible his death was relatively sudden. He would have been born in 1785, just a few years after the American Revolution, and just one generation after the establishment of St. George's Anglican Church. His wife, Ruth Carpenter, was born August 1, 1787, the daughter of Morris Carpenter and Abigail Lawrence. The Carpenters had moved to New Castle two years before Ruth was born, according to History and Genealogy of the Carpenter Family, where they purchased a 161-acre farm. The family had originally come from Musketa Cove, Long Island. This is a particularly interesting detail because the original settlers of North Castle - back in the 1720s - were described as "descendants of the Long Island Quakers" by a contemporary visitor. Were Quaker families still migrating from Long Island into Westchester into the 1780s? According to the Carpenter genealogy book, Ruth's father belonged to the Methodist Church whose property adjoined that of the Episcopal cemetery on its southern border. Perhaps they were like many other families in the region who were originally Quakers, or had Quaker ancestry.

As for Abijah himself, several family trees on Ancestry.com name his parents as Caleb Merritt and Deborah Lyon, but I can't confirm it. The earliest record in which I have found Abijah Merritt is the 1820 federal census of New Castle, in which he appears as the head of a household of six people, including one white male age 26-44 (Abijah himself), one white female age 26-44 (presumably Ruth), three white males under the age of 10 (possibly their sons), one white female age 10-15 (possibly their daughter), and one person engaged in manufactures (most likely Abijah).

Twenty years later, the 1840 census shows Abijah Merritt as the head of a household of five people, including a male and female age 50-59 (Abijah and Ruth), one free white male age 20-29, one free white male age 15-19, and one free white male age 10-14. Two people were engaged in manufacture and trade. If I had to guess, I'd venture that these five people represent Abijah, Ruth, and their three sons, and that the oldest son likely engaged in the same trade as Abijah. Abijah and Ruth's daughter had likely married and left the household at this point.

In the inventory of Abijah Merritt's property taken at the time of his death, three relatives are named: Ruth Merritt, his widow; Elizabeth, wife of Isaac Sherwood; and Caleb Merritt, administrator of his estate.

A Caleb Merritt of New Castle enumerated in the 1870 federal census was 58 years old, making him the right age to be Abijah and Ruth's oldest son (the one age 20-29 in the 1840 census). The Caleb Merritt in the 1870 census was a house carpenter with a wife Mary and children Maria, Abijah, and Sarah. He had real estate worth $5,000 and personal estate worth $625.

Abijah Merritt's probate record contains further indirect evidence that this Caleb was Abijah Merritt's son. Among Abijah's property was a full set of carpentry tools and a large amount of lumber. Presumably, Abijah was a carpenter and had taught the trade to his son.

Elizabeth C. Sherwood, the wife of Isaac Sherwood, is listed in the 1850 census as 40 years old, making her the right age to be the girl listed in the 1820 census as age 10-15. She is, most likely, Abijah and Ruth's daughter. Isaac was a farmer with an estate worth $8,000 and they had five children: Caleb M., Ruth A., William, Elizabeth, and Isaac S. Presumably, Elizabeth named her daughter Ruth after her mother, just as Caleb named his son Abijah after their father.

Thus we are able to build a picture of the family in 1847: Abijah died, perhaps suddenly, leaving his 60-year-old widow, 37-year-old daughter, and 35-year-old son to contend with his estate. The estate inventory taken by Caleb Merritt on April 10, 1847, records what that estate contained and how it was apportioned to his survivors.

The Inventory
The first section of the inventory deals with the "personal property assigned to the widow," Ruth Merritt. This property was held separately and was not considered part of Abijah's estate. It included:

• Family library
• Pork of two swine
• Cooking stove
• One large and one small wheel
• One cow, four beds & bedding, and cooking utensils
• Six chairs, six knives & forks, six plates, six tea cups and saucers
• One sugar dish, one milk pot, one teapot, and six spoons

This was followed by "articles of personal property assigned to the widow and appraised and not exceeding in value of $150." Since Abijah's entire estate was judged to be worth no more than $300, it seems that Ruth was entitled to no more than half of her husband's property. 

• Two tables
• One dozen chairs
• 1/2 dozen knives & forks
• Fifteen Liverpool plates
• Two oval dishes
• Six blue-edged plates
• Two [illegible] dishes
• One large oval dish
• Three tablespoons [illegible] silver
• Three teaspoons [illegible] silver
• One pair white & [illegible] pitchers
• Six tumblers and two decanters
• One brass clock
• One secretary
• One willow basket
• One large clock
• 1/2 dozen china cups & saucers
• One looking glass
• One tea bord [?]
• Pork & beef [illegible]
• Two chest of drawers

The next section, dated May 16, 1846 - that is, more than six months before Abijah died - is titled "Book account against Richard Kirby." I am not sure what this means, but Richard Kirby was a farmer of about Abijah's age who lived in the same region and is also buried in the cemetery. The following property is listed in this section, totaling a value of $239.49:

• Bank notes
• One silver watch
• One pair silver spectacles
• Three pair brass spectacles [?]
• Lot of carpenter tools consisting of planes, saws, augers, chisels, and one pair adze & broad ax
• One grindstone
• One ten plate stove [?]
• Two cast iron wheels and [illegible] in shop
• Blacksmith bellows & [illegible]
• One tool [?] chest
• Lot of plank in blacksmith shop
• Two iron bars and two wrenches belonging to saw mill
• One cart hook, one ax
• 18 oak boards
• Maple and oak plank
• Lot of cherry and birch plank
• Lot of ash plank, beach blank, and butternut [?] boards
• Six flour [illegible]
• One lumber [illegible] spring wagon
• One set one horse harness
• Two old wagon tire and old [illegible]
• One bay mare
• One yearling colt
• One red cow
• One corn plough
• Twenty fowls
• Shovel and [?]fork & spade & [illegible]

This list is proceeded by two items:

• Note against Solomon Classer [?] dated April 24th, 1834 for $24.25 Bad
• Note against Floyd G. Cox dated January 7th 1840 for $10.04 Bad

On the next page, Ruth Merritt has signed a note renouncing her right to letters of administration on the estate of her deceased husband, witnessed by Isaac and Elizabeth C. Sherwood.

The Aftermath

Ruth Merritt died in October of 1859 at the age of 71 of consumption. Her death is recorded in the federal mortality schedules for 1860. I haven't been able to determine where she is buried; if it's in the Episcopal cemetery (the most likely location), I haven't seen her gravestone. Nor have I found her name in the county probate index.

While there are several Sherwoods buried in the cemetery, Elizabeth Merritt Sherwood doesn't seem to be among them. I last find her in the federal census of 1860, living in Bedford.

I last find Caleb Merritt in the federal census of 1880, living in New Castle. He and his wife Mary may be the Caleb and Mary Merritt buried in the Anderson Cemetery in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1894 and 1886, respectively.

1. Abijah Merritt (1785-1847) m. Ruth Carpenter (1787-1859) 
1. Elizabeth Merritt (1810-after 1860) m. Isaac Sherwood (1802-)
1. Caleb M. Sherwood (1836-)
2. Ruth A. Sherwood (1838-)
3. William Sherwood (1845-)
4. Elizabeth Sherwood (1847-)
5. Isaac S. Sherwood (1849-)
2. Caleb Merritt (1812-1894) m. Mary E. (1819-1886)
1. Maria Merritt (1845-)
2. Abijah Merritt (1847-)
3. Sarah Merritt (1854-)

The Almshouse by Numbers: 1870

Total number of inmates: 358

Sex
Female: 133 (37.2%)
Male: 225 (62.8%)

Race
White: 339 (94.7%)
Black: 18 (5.0%)
Mulatto: 1 (0.3%)

Age
Infant (0-2 yrs): 16 (4.5%)
Child/adolescent (3-19 yrs): 63 (17.6%)
Young adult (20-39 yrs): 117 (32.7%)
Middle adult (40-59 yrs): 103 (28.8%)
Old adult (60+ yrs): 59 (16.5%)

Place of birth
Germany: 13 (3.6%)
Baden: 4 (1.1%)
Germany (state unknown): 4 (1.1%)
Bremen: 2 (0.6%)
Hanover: 2 (0.6%)
Hamburg: 1 (0.3%)

United Kingdom: 181 (50.6%)
Ireland: 148 (41.3%)
England: 21 (5.9%)
Scotland: 12 (3.4%)

United States: 151 (42.2%)
New York: 148 (41.3%)
New Jersey: 2 (0.6%)
Pennsylvania: 1 (0.3%)

Other Europe: 12 (3.4%)
France: 4 (1.1%)
Prussia: 3 (0.8%)
Switzerland: 2 (0.6%)
Belgium: 1 (0.3%)
Holland: 1 (0.3%)
Poland: 1 (0.3%)

Literacy
Cannot read or write: 21 (5.9%)
Cannot write: 21 (5.9%)

Mental state
Insane: 37 (10.3%)
Idiot: 7 (2%)

Source: The United States Federal Census for the Town of Mount Pleasant, 1870

A Few Residents of the Almshouse

Thomas Martin, admitted February 2, 1875, record number 1.  Aged 30, white, single, from County Tipera (Tipperary?), Ireland, in the US for seven years. Cause of dependence: feeble-minded or insane, caused by sunstroke.  Can do laboring work and is quite industrious. "Will probably not recover. His physical ability is good and is able to perform considerable labor. Was committed as a vagrant by Moses W. Fish Esq."

Alexander Hoffminer, admitted February 22, 1875, record number 42. Aged 60, white, single, from Lengo (?), Germany, in the US for 23 years. Cause of dependence: Paralysis. "This man is a professional surgeon and physician and has practiced medicine since 1854. Had his diploma from New York City College and through neglect and carelessness has become partially paralyzed."

Eliza Hall, admitted April 17, 1873, record number 52. Aged 73, white, widowed, from Kirk Harris, County Antrim, Ireland, in the US for 14 years. Cause of dependence: Old age and destitution. "This is a respectable old woman [who] has no near relative that feels any special interest in her. In all probability she will remain a dependent inmate."

 Maria O'Rourke, admitted March 29, 1870, record number 78. Aged 69, white, widowed, from Ballyconnell, County Cavan, Ireland, in the US for 53 years. Cause of dependence: Broken leg. "This woman is intelligent, and had the misfortune to have her leg broken by the New Haven R. Road. She is the mother of 24 children, 12 boys and 12 girls. The husband died in this house."

 Albert Miller, admitted August 25, 1874, record number 76. Aged 57, white, married, from Germany (I can't figure out what the town and county are referring to), in the US for 19 years. Can cut wood and make fires. Cause of dependence: General debility. "This man has had property but through misfortune has lost all. He is really a pitaful [sic] object."

 Ezra Yerks, admitted November 27, 1867, record number 67. Aged 69, white, widowed, from Mount Pleasant, New York. Cause of dependence: Paralysis. "This is a Christianlike man. He had a great dislike to become a pauper. He asserted on his arrival here that he would rather die than be obliged to become an inmate of a Poorhouse but since has changed his mind and says he is contented."

 Phebe Rocco, admitted August 7, 1872, record number 159. Aged 58, white, single, from Eastchester, NY. Cause of dependence: Epilepsy. Can do general housework. "This woman is of respectable family and in consequence of her being subjected to these fits have [sic] been placed here in this house and probably will remain dependent."



William W. Wetherspoon, admitted December 12, 1866, record number 176. Aged 40, white, single, from New York, NY. Cause of dependence: Feeble minded and insane. "This man is insane. It is hereditary with the family. He has a dower of about two hundred dollars per annum which serves [?], boards and clothes him. He is a classical scholar."

Going Home

I don't know exactly when the house above came into the possession of the Hamblin family. They may have built it themselves, upon moving to Winchell Mountain in the 1770s, or they may have bought it from someone else. In any case, they definitely owned it and were living there as early as 1867, and probably quite a bit earlier. This is the house where my great-great-great grandparents, James (1841-1924) and Frances Collier Hamblin (1841-1917) lived and raised their two children, my great-great grandfather Myron George Hamblin (1868-1959) and Marion Mace Hamblin (1882-1965). In the photograph above, which was taken around 1900, Frances and Myron (in chairs) are seated on the front porch with Marion on the steps. 

Below is the house as it appeared last Sunday.

I was thrilled when I saw it. While my first choice would have been to keep it in the family (so much for that - the family moved off Winchell Mountain for good in 1924) my second choice would be that it would find an owner who would care for it and preserve its historic character, and that's exactly what has happened. While there have been plenty of changes to the house over the past 115 years, the house is still recognizable and beautifully preserved. I love the contrasting trim, and the landscaping is perfect. I think the Hamblins would be proud.

The Almshouse in the Manual of Westchester County, 1898

The following is excerpted from The Manual of Westchester County from 1898. I've transcribed the passage below, followed by my comments. Thanks so much to Philip from the Restoring Mount Kisco History page for sending it my way.

----------------

The Westchester County Almshouse, located at East View, in the town of Mount Pleasant, is, beyond dispute, at the present time one of the best-managed institutions of the kind in the State. This shelter for the county's homeless poor, with its connecting buildings, is pleasantly situated in one of the most attractive of valleys, protected by picturesque hills and surrounded by land views ever pleasing to the eye, contributing to make the lives of the unfortunate wards of the county as bearable and happy as possible. To the observance of the first rule of the institution, cleanliness, is due principally, the general good health of the inmates; sick people found here are those who were sick when introduced, as few well persons are taken ill after arrival.

On April 1, 1828, the County Almshouse was established and opened for business on its present site, the locality then being known as Knapp's Corners. Isaac Coutant was duly installed as its first keeper. Prior to 1828 each town maintained an almshouse and cared for its own poor.

During the year ending April 1, 1896, the Almshouse contained 417 inmates, of whom 321 were men, 78 were women and 18 were babes. During the year ending April 1, 1897, there were 403 inmates, of which number 297 were men, 83 were women and 23 were children under two years of age. During the year ending April 1, 1898, there were 447 inmates, of which number 352 were men, 79 were women and 16 were children under two years of age. During the year just ended the hospital accommodated 105 persons, 70 of whom were men and 35 were women, which number is about ten percent increase over previous year. Under present poor laws each town in the county is entitled to one Overseer of the Poor. An Overseer of the Poor is permitted by law to expend not over $10 not oftener than three times a year in assisting and relieving the immediate wants of a destitute family; if further assistance is necessary for some family, the said Overseer of the Poor shall apply to the County Superintendent of the Poor for authority to render further financial aid, and if said Superintendent finds, on investigation, that the family for whom assistance is asked can be removed to the Almshouse, such removal will have to be accomplished; in case removal is impossible, the Superintendent may grant further financial assistance by issuing over his signature a certificate to the County Treasurer, or by endorsing his approval on an order for money made by Overseer of the Poor. The poor orders issued by Overseers of the Poor are paid by the County Treasurer on presentation of the order, together with a bill, verified by oath, showing goods delivered under said order. The number of orders that can be issued in a town or city is not limited.

The present County Superintendent of the Poor, Henry Esser, when he first assumed charge of the Almshouse, in 1890, inaugurated the custom of providing the inmates with three regular meals a day, displacing the rule of only giving them two meals a day, omitting supper. Instead of every person, men as well as women, washing their own clothing, as formerly, Mr. Esser introduced a system by which the clothing of all the inmates is washed by most improved steam machinery. A three-story concrete building was erected in 1890 for the express purpose of the laundry. Work in the laundry, as well as at road and wall building, farming, carpentering, etc., is done by able-bodied inmates, without other payment than their support. The renovation of the furniture in the house, the erection of a bath-house, stables and other outhouses, done during Mr. Esser's administration, were effected principally by pauper labor, saving much expense to the county. The buildings are heated by the hot water system. The institution has a fire department system of its own. Kerosene oil is now being used for illuminating purposes, but it is expected that electric lights will soon be introduced to lessen expense and the chance of a conflagration and great loss.

No person afflicted with contagious disease is admitted to the hospital. Should a case unexpectedly appear, a place for it will be found in an isolated house on the farm attached to the Almshouse.

The men and women are ever well clad; the clothing and shoes worn are made in the State prisons of the State, excepting the men's shirts and women's skirts, which are made by women inmates of the institution. Men are given tobacco, a quarter of a pound package to every week; women are given something extra each week to equal the consideration given the men. Invalids are specially fed, as necessity requires. Provisions and goods of all kinds purchased for the institution are bought in large quantities at wholesale, and under the present system of bookkeeping at the institution it can readily be seen when and where every article was purchased -- the cost, when received and by whom received. The business management is most excellent.

The expenditure for the maintenance of dependent children outside of the Almshouse has always been a large item in the county budget. As the law will not permit the keeping of a child over two years of age in the Almshouse, arrangement for their care has to be made with institutions outside. Children ranging in age between two and sixteen years, a county charge, are sent to these institutions, viz.: The Westchester Temporary Home for Destitute Children at White Plains, the Catholic Protectory at Westchester, the Home of the Missionary Sisters at Peekskill, the Orphan Home at Albany, and the Home of the Sisters of Divine Compassion at White Plains. At present there are about five hundred such children in these several homes, for the support of which the county pays, as board, $2.11 each per week. These children are committed by Overseers of the Poor, Justices of the Peace and Police Justices, for destitution and different misdemeanors; the Superintendent of the Poor has control over only those who are committed for destitution. The Board of Supervisors during its sessions of 1896-7, on suggestion of Supt. Esser, passed a law providing for the placing of children in private families and thus arranging for their support. Two lady agents are engaged under this law -- one Protestant and one Catholic -- for the purpose of placing children in private homes, and they act under the guidance and supervision of the Superintendent. Homes are selected with great care and after the most thorough investigation. The project has met with great success, and those entrusted with its fulfillment feel greatly encouraged. From April 1, 1897, to April 1, 1898, about one hundred children were provided with desirable homes; these children ranged from 8 to 15 years; five children, between the ages of 2 and 3 years, have found parents by adoption.

The cost of maintaining dependent children was reduced in 1890, by Superintendent Esser, from $65,000 to $45,000, by compelling the parents who were financially able, to contribute to the support of their children harbored in the public institutions; in 1892 the cost was further reduced to $35,000. In 1896, when Mr. Esser again assumed office, he kept the expense of the children's support down to $46,261.28, where it cost, under his predecessor in the year before $73,547.84. This year the appropriation for this particular purpose is $52,000.

The county farm, on which the Almshouse stands, contains 110 acres and furnishes a greater part of the needed supplies. The main building, about 200x70, will accommodate 510 inmates; the concrete building, used as a wash-house, is in size 40x60; the tramp-house is a wooden building, 25x80; another frame building, 20x40, is used as a lodging-house. The new hospital building, for the erection of which the Board of Supervisors recently appropriated, is being built, of concrete, three stories high, with basement, 50x80; the excavating, the dressing of stone, the building of foundation walls and much of the laboring work on the proposed building, is being performed by able-bodied inmates of the Almshouse. When completed the building will be provided with all modern hospital improvements. The structure will be located on line with the main building, on the west end, the roadway separating the two buildings.


Present Officials of the County Almshouse
Henry Esser, Superintendent.
Wesley Boyce, Keeper.
W. W. Mills, M. D., House Physician.
N. H. Freeland, M. D., Visiting Physician.
R. B. Coutant, M. D., and H. Beattie Brown, M. D., Consulting Physicians.
Frederick Crisfield, Clerk and Bookkeeper.
Mrs. Wesley Boyce, Matron.
Miss Susie Boyce, Assistant Matron.
Mrs. Louise Flagg, Professional Nurse.
James Potts, Professional Nurse.
Mrs. A. C. Strang, of Yonkers, Agent for placing Protestant children.
Mrs. A. E. Hume, of New Rochelle, Agent for placing Catholic children.


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My Comments

• In the 1890s, the majority of the inmates of the almshouse were men. Why? I'm assuming that women were no less likely to face indigence than were men, especially considering that women's job opportunities, personal liberties, and economic powers were far more restricted. Where were the indigent women? Did they manage to find refuge with friends or family? Did they stay on the streets? Or did they manage to support themselves through wage work (factories, housekeeping, prostitution)? 
• I wonder what it was like for a family to be forcibly "removed" to the poorhouse because their town's Overseer of the Poor had exhausted his funds. Considering that children weren't kept at the almshouse, I assume that children were regularly separated from their parents as a result of poverty.
• The practice of employing the poor "without other payment than their support" would probably be considered illegal and unethical today. The only situation in which this practice is acceptable today is in prisons, where inmates work for cents on the hour. 
• Men are given tobacco, whereas it would be inappropriate to provide tobacco to women (ladies, even paupers, should not consume tobacco).
• Of course institutions should be generally managed by men, but children, which belong to a woman's domain, are managed by "lady agents." Of course Protestant and Catholic children must be kept separate.
• The pride expressed the writer in relating how the cost of managing dependent children has been reduced seems kind of unseemly, especially since no consideration has been given to addressing the underlying factors that cause poverty. 
• This passage is saturated with the prevailing values of public institutions of the day: cleanliness, efficiency, order, discipline, progress, etc. Poverty is taken as a given, something that can be successfully managed given the right organization and technology. Human beings form a part of the machinery that houses and feeds them. The Almshouse is a microcosm of the world with its own supplies, laundry, hospital, etc., which aspires to self-sufficiency and machine-like proficiency.

Winchell Mountain Burying Ground, Millerton, NY

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program of reminiscences from the 2015 AGS Conference to bring you this brief glimpse into the Winchell Mountain Burying Ground in Millerton, NY, where my ancestors are buried. Well, not all of my ancestors; to be more specific (my direct ancestors in bold):

Joshua Hamblin (1722-1797), my 7th great grandfather

Major David Hamblin (1743-1806), my 6th great grandfather
Hannah Townsend Hamblin (1740-1781), my 6th great grandmother
Mary Bishop Hamblin (1751-1824), David's second wife

Joshua Hamblin (1758-1799), my 6th great uncle (son of Joshua and Mary)

Solomon Hamblin (1770-1790), my 5th great uncle (son of David and Hannah)
Elijah Hamblin (1772-1776), my 5th great uncle (son of David and Hannah)
Hiram Hamblin (1789-1790), my 5th great uncle (son of David and Mary)
An unnamed infant (1791), my 5th great aunt (daughter of David and Mary)
Colonel Hiram Hamblin (1796-1831), my 5th great uncle (son of David and Mary)



Joshua, David, and Hannah were all born in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Barnstable is where the first Hamblins in America - James Hamblin and his wife Ann Scott - settled in the 1630s after migrating from Reading, England.

Shortly before the Revolutionary War, David, Joshua, and Joshua Jr. moved to Dutchess County, NY, where David served as second lieutenant in Captain Abraham Hartwell's Company, Colonel Morris Graham's Regiment, of the New York Militia. Joshua Sr. and David were among the signers of the Articles of Association in the North East Precinct in July 1775.

After the war, the Hamblins took ownership of two adjoining farms on Winchell Mountain, in the town of North East, near the village of Millerton. This is an atlas from 1867 showing the family's property in the upper left corner ("Hamplin" = Hamblin). The small "Cem." (cemetery) to the south of the Hamblin farmsteads is the Winchell Mountain Burying Ground.

The Winchell Mountain Burying Ground is also known (to me) as the place where my cemetery mania properly started. But to explain why involves going back through the generations again. After David, the next in my ancestral line is David Hamblin Jr. (1774-1844), who married Lydia Roe (1778-1864) and managed the family farm for several decades before he and part of his family relocated to Ohio (a common destination for agricultural families from New York and New England looking for fresh opportunities). 

Among the Hamblins who remained in New York were my 4th great grandfather, Myron Hamblin (1807-1897). He married Rachel A. Tripp (1811-1899) in 1839. Rachel was the daughter of John Tripp and Cynthia Adsit, and came from a long line of Quakers who lived on Quaker Hill in Pawling, New York. 

I have obituaries for both Myron (pictured right) and Rachel Tripp Hamblin, preserved by my great-grandmother. According to his obituary, Myron was "a successful farmer, always worked hard and by economical management saved enough of this world's goods to make himself and [his] family comfortable and easy." It further states, "no one can point to an unmanly thing he ever did." Concerning his death, he was "taken ill, with something like pleurisy. He had had several previous attacks but this one was unusually severe and he could not survive it. During his illness he was cared for most tenderly by his family and [his] nurse, A. S. Austin." Myron was the first in his family to eschew burial at the Winchell Mountain Burying Ground in favor of Irondale Cemetery, a much more modern property in the village of Millerton (i.e., off of the mountain and in the middle of civilization). As for Rachel Tripp Hamblin, her obituary states that she "was a woman who never gave much time in society, but everything to her centered in and around the home circle. She had strong convictions of right, and was not afraid to advocate her principles ... She was a firm believer of honesty, truthfulness and virtue."

Myron and Rachel's four children are pictured below (from left to right, James, David, Hiram, and Mariette):

James Hamblin (1841-1924) was the first-born and my 3rd great grandfather. He married Frances Collier, the daughter of Simeon Mace Collier and Eliza Thomas, in 1865. She was also from a long line of Quakers of Quaker Hill. According to my mother, who heard it from her great-grandmother, Frances Collier Hamblin spoke several languages and worked as a schoolteacher prior to her marriage. James and Frances had two children, Myron and Marion.

David Hamblin (1844-1925) married his sister-in-law Sarah E. Rowe, the daughter of Robert Rowe and Almira Wheeler, in 1872, and was a farmer. He and his wife had four daughters.

Mariette Hamblin (1848-1943) married Wheeler E. Rowe, the son of Robert Rowe and Almira Wheeler, in 1871. He was a farmer. Mariette was a prolific craftswoman and created several large, intricate pieces of needlework and a large framed wreath made out of seeds. She and her husband had no children, which is how these pieces came to be passed down through my branch of the family.

Hiram Hamblin (1854-1940) was (no surprise) also a farmer. He married first, in 1880, Elizabeth S. Howland, and after her death in 1922, married Mary L. Chapman. After his second wife's death Hiram moved in with his widowed sister, Mariette. He was also childless.

All of the above were buried in Irondale Cemetery. While the family no longer used the old burying ground, they continued to inhabit the same farmsteads and would have passed their ancestors' graves each time they took the road leading down into Millerton. In fact, assuming that there were no trees in the way at the time, they would have been able to see the old cemetery from the more southern farmstead.

This was the northern farmhouse, which no longer exists. However, the barn is still there, and you can still read James Hamblin's signature on one of the interior walls.

James and Frances's son Myron married Aletta Moore Card in 1892 at the home of her parents, Eason Card and Mary Jane Moore, by Reverend Miller of the East Ancram Methodist Church. Prior to her marriage, Aletta worked as a schoolteacher in the district schools.

Myron attended the Seymour Smith Institute (for agriculture) at Pine Plains and worked for six years as a clerk in a general store at Ancram Lead Mines before he purchased the farm pictured above from his father, which he ran as a dairy farm. According to his biography in Columbia County at the End of the Century (1900), he had "a herd of thirty of the finest cows in the vicinity, and owns about 200 acres of land." He was a member of the Millerton Grange for 32 years. 

Myron Hamblin and his mother, Frances Collier Hamblin, circa 1868

For the first years of their marriage, Myron and Aletta lived at the Octagonal House in Ancramdale, which was built in 1880 (during a very short-lived fad for octagonal houses in Upstate New York). Below is a newspaper clipping preserved and annotated by my great-grandmother (their daughter Ruth).

And here is the house as it appears today (or more specifically, last Sunday):

The Octagonal House is located just a few miles west of the family farmsteads on Winchell Mountain. The Presbyterian church that Myron and Aletta attended while they were living in the Octagonal House still stands, in a very sleepy little hamlet called Pulvers Corners.

Aletta and Myron on their wedding day, 1892

Myron and Aletta's only child Ruth Card Hamblin was born in their farmhouse on Winchell Mountain on September 16, 1896. In order to attend school, Ruth had to ride on her parents' horse-drawn wagon into the village of Millerton, where she boarded with a family during the week, and took the wagon back up to her parents' farmhouse for the weekends. When she left the area to attend New Paltz Normal School in 1914, it was with the intention of leaving the agricultural way of life behind. She taught fifth grade for several years in New Paltz and Mount Kisco before marrying my great-grandfather, Ernest Gracey Waldie, a Scottish-Canadian tinsmith, in 1923.

From left to right, Myron, Aletta, a family friend, and Ruth at the farm with their horse-drawn wagon

Ruth and Ernest settled in the suburbs north of New York City, where Ernest ran a successful tin roofing business. Just one year after their marriage, Ruth's parents sold the farm on Winchell Mountain and moved in with their daughter and son-in-law. This effectively ended the Hamblin family's tenure on Winchell Mountain, but connections to the area endured.

For decades after Myron, Aletta, and Ruth left Winchell Mountain, they continued to visit the village of Millerton, where several of their relatives lived, including Myron's uncle Hiram, his aunt Mariette, and his sister Marion, who married Charles Herbert Pulver and had two children. These visits continued even as Ruth and Ernest's children grew up and had their own children. My mother remembers visiting Aunt Marion, who died in 1965, in the early 1960s. 

By the time I was born, there were no more relatives (aside from distant cousins) living in the Millerton area. Furthermore, my great-grandmother Ruth - the last generation to have been born on Winchell Mountain - had died. However, my mother, who always had a very strong bond with Ruth, continued to maintain our family's connection with the old farms through stories and regular visits to Winchell Mountain. I first saw the old burying ground when I was too young to even remember, but it left a lasting impression.

The connections in this burying ground run both ways, backward in time to Barnstable, Massachusetts, where Joshua and David were born and their immigrant ancestors settled, and forward in time to Ruth, the first in her family to leave the farm behind, and her descendants who are alive today. This weekend, I took Ruth's youngest descendants (ages 6 and 8) through a tour of Winchell Mountain Burying Ground. I think they liked it, since they kept asking me to read aloud the inscriptions on the stones (and asking questions like "You can die when you're 18?!"). 

This last picture is great because it captures so much of what makes this cemetery, and by extension all old cemeteries, so great. In the left background you can see some of the earlier stones that still preserve the old "bedhead"-style form even though the material of the stones has changed (their earliest precedents, back in Massachusetts, would have been sandstone, but since there was none available on Winchell Mountain, the oldest stones there are slate, followed by marble). In the center you can see an obelisk dedicated to several members of the Winchell family, for whom the mountain was named. And finally on the left you can see a large granite marker, erected in 1896, squatting on top of an older marble monument.